SQL Syntax

1. SQL Syntax Introduction

This section is a reference for the SQL grammar that Mckoi SQL Database supports. Mckoi SQL
Database supports a subset of entry level ANSI SQL-92. This section is not intended to be a
tutorial for learning SQL. For SQL books and online tutorials see the links section on the home
page.

2. CREATE TABLE syntax

CREATE TABLE [ IF NOT EXISTS ] table_name
( column_declare1, column_declare2, constraint_declare1, ... )

column_declare ::= column_name type [ DEFAULT expression ]

[ NULL | NOT NULL ] [ INDEX_BLIST | INDEX_NONE ]
type ::= BIT | REAL | CHAR | TEXT | DATE | TIME |
FLOAT | BIGINT | DOUBLE | STRING | BINARY | NUMERIC |
DECIMAL | BOOLEAN | TINYINT | INTEGER | VARCHAR |
SMALLINT | VARBINARY | TIMESTAMP | LONGVARCHAR |
JAVA_OBJECT | LONGVARBINARY
constraint_declare :: = [ CONSTRAINT constraint_name ]
PRIMARY KEY ( col1, col2, ... ) |
FOREIGN KEY ( col1, col2, ... ) REFERENCES f_table [ ( col1, col2, ... ) ]
[ ON UPDATE triggered_action ] [ ON DELETE triggered_action ] |
UNIQUE ( col1, col2, ... ) |
CHECK ( expression )
[ INITIALLY DEFERRED | INITIALLY IMMEDIATE ]
[ NOT DEFERRABLE | DEFERRABLE ]
triggered_action :: =
NO ACTION | SET NULL | SET DEFAULT | CASCADE

When declaring string or binary column types the maximum size must be specified. The
following example declares a string column that can grow to a maximum of 100 characters,

CREATE TABLE Table ( str_col VARCHAR(100) )

When handling strings the database will only allocate as much storage space as the string uses
up. If a 10 character string is stored in str_col then only space for 10 characters will be
allocated in the database. So if you need a column that can store a string of any size, use an
arbitrarily large number when declaring the column. Mckoi SQL Database does not use a fixed
size storage mechanism when storing variable length column data.

JAVA_OBJECT is a column type that can contain serializable Java objects. The JAVA_OBJECT type
has an optional Java class definition that is used for runtime class constraint checking. The
following example demonstrates creating a JAVA_OBJECT column.
CREATE TABLE ObjectTable (
obj_id NUMERIC, obj JAVA_OBJECT(java.awt.Point))

If the Java class is not specified the column defaults to java.lang.Object which effectively
means any type of serializable Java object can be kept in the column.

String types may have a COLLATE clause that changes the collation ordering of the string based
on a language. For example, the folling statement creates a string that can store and order
Japanese text;

CREATE TABLE InternationalTable (

japanese_text VARCHAR(4000) COLLATE 'jaJP')

The 'jaJP' is an ISO localization code for the Japanese language in Japan. Other locale codes can
be found in the documentation to java.text.Collate.

Unique, primary/foreign key and check integrity constraints can be defined in the CREATE TABLE
statement. The following is an example of defining a table with integrity constraints.

CREATE TABLE Customer (

number VARCHAR(40) NOT NULL,
name VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL,
ssn VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL,
age INTEGER NOT NULL,

CONSTRAINT cust_pk PRIMARY KEY (number),

UNIQUE ( ssn ), // (An anonymous constraint)
CONSTRAINT age_check CHECK (age >= 0 AND age < 200)
)

3. ALTER TABLE syntax

ALTER TABLE table_name ADD [COLUMN] column_declare
ALTER TABLE table_name ADD constraint_declare
ALTER TABLE table_name DROP [COLUMN] column_name
ALTER TABLE table_name DROP CONSTRAINT constraint_name
ALTER TABLE table_name DROP PRIMARY KEY
ALTER TABLE table_name ALTER [COLUMN] column_name SET default_expr
ALTER TABLE table_name ALTER [COLUMN] column_name DROP DEFAULT
ALTER CREATE TABLE ....

ALTER is used to add / remove / modify the columns and integrity constraints of a table. The ADD
[COLUMN] form adds a new column definition to the table (using the same column declaration
syntax in the CREATE command). The DROP [COLUMN] form drops the column with the name
from the table. ALTER [COLUMN] column_name SET default_expr alters the default value for
the column. ALTER [COLUMN] column_name DROP DEFAULT removes the default value set for
the column.

The following example adds a new column to a table;

ALTER TABLE Order ADD notes VARCHAR(60000) DEFAULT 'n/a'

ADD constraint_declare is used to define a new integrity constraint on a table (using the same
constraint declaration syntax in the CREATE command). DROP CONSTRAINT is used to drop a
named constraint from a table.

The other form of this statement is ALTER CREATE TABLE .... This alters the table to the
specification of the given CREATE statement. Any columns that are in the original table are not
lost provided the column name is in the new table specification. Any columns that were not in
the original table are set to the default value.

The following example demonstrates this form of ALTER statement;

ALTER CREATE TABLE table

( col1 INTEGER NOT NULL UNIQUE,
col2 NUMERIC,
col3 VARCHAR(90000) )

The ALTER CREATE TABLE ... syntax is an extension to the SQL-92 standard.

4. DROP TABLE syntax

DROP TABLE [ IF EXISTS ] table_name1, table_name2, ....

Removes the table(s) from the database. The IF EXISTS clause will drop the table only if it
exists. If this clause is not present an error is generated if the table does not exist. Any data that
was in a dropped table is lost so use with care.

5. CREATE VIEW syntax

CREATE VIEW table_name [ ( column_name1, column_name2, ... ) ]
AS SELECT ...

Creates a new view. A view is a virtual table based on the result of a SELECT query. The content
of a view may reference any number of other tables and views.

A simple example of a view follows;

CREATE VIEW ViewOfTableA AS SELECT col1 FROM TableA

A view acts like a regular table and can be queried as you would a table made with the CREATE
TABLE statement. Views are read-only.

6. DROP VIEW syntax

DROP VIEW table_name

Removes a view from the database. A view can be changed by dropping and recreating it.
7. CREATE SEQUENCE syntax
CREATE SEQUENCE name
[ INCREMENT increment_value ]
[ MINVALUE minimum_value ]
[ MAXVALUE maximum_value ]
[ START start_value ]
[ CACHE cache_value ]
[ CYCLE ]

Creates a new sequence generator that can be used to generate an iterative sequence of values.
Sequence generators have a number of uses including the creation of primary keys for a table.
The INCREMENT, MINVALUE, MAXVALUE, START, and CACHE values are all optional.

The INCREMENT value specifies how the sequence increments each iteration. By default a
sequence generator increments by 1. The MINVALUE and MAXVALUE values specify the
bounds of the sequence generator. By default MINVALUE and MAXVALUE are 0 and
Long.MAX_VALUE respectively. The START value specifies the first key (exclusive) of the
generator. The CACHE value specifies how many keys should be cached ahead of time.

Below is an example that creates a new sequence generator called 'seq_key_1' that starts at 10
and increments by 2 each iteration;

CREATE SEQUENCE seq_key_1 INCREMENT 2 START 10

A sequence generator is accessed by a call to the NEXTVAL function. The NEXTVAL function
iterates the generator and returns the next value from the sequence. The NEXTVAL function is an
atomic operation and guarantees that no two identical values will be returned regardless of the
frequency or concurrency of calls to the function. Below is a simple example;

SELECT NEXTVAL('seq_key_1')

8. DROP SEQUENCE syntax

DROP SEQUENCE name

Drops a sequence generator previously created with the CREATE SEQUENCE statement. A
sequence generator may be changed by dropping the sequence and then recreating it.

9. COMPACT TABLE syntax

COMPACT TABLE table_name

Compacts the table data file in the file system. This removes all unused space from the table file
and may rearrange the structure of the table to a form that better fits the characteristics of the
data being stored.
10. CREATE SCHEMA syntax
CREATE SCHEMA schema_name

Creates a schema with the given name. By default a database has three schema initially defined,
SYS_INFO, SYS_JDBC and APP. The SYS_INFO and SYS_JDBC schema contain a number of
important system tables and the APP schema is the default user schema.

The following is an example of creating a new schema and changing to it;

CREATE SCHEMA my_schema;

SET SCHEMA my_schema;

11. DROP SCHEMA syntax

DROP SCHEMA schema_name

Drops the schema with the given name. A schema may only be dropped if it contains no tables.
The SYS_INFO and APP schema may not be dropped.

12. INSERT syntax

INSERT INTO table_name [ ( col_name1, col_name2, .... ) ]
VALUES ( expression1_1, expression1_2, .... ),
( expression2_1, expression2_2, .... ), ....
INSERT INTO table_name [ ( col_name1, col_name2, .... ) ]
SELECT ...
INSERT INTO table_name
SET col_name1 = expression1, col_name2 = expression2, ....

This is the SQL command to insert records into a table in the database. This statement comes in
three forms. The first inserts data from a VALUES clause;

INSERT INTO table ( col1, col2, col3 )

VALUES ( 10, 4 + 3, CONCAT('1', '1', 'c') ),
( 11, (28 / 2) - 7, CONCAT(col1, 'c') )

The second form is used to copy information from a SELECT query into the table specified in the
INSERT statement. For example;

INSERT INTO table ( col1, col2, col3 )

SELECT id, num, description
FROM table2
WHERE description LIKE '11%'

The third form uses a list of column SET assignments. For example;

INSERT INTO table

SET col1 = 10, col2 = 4 + 3, col3 = CONCAT(col1, 'c')
If a column of the table is not specified in an INSERT the default value declared for the column is
used. If no default value was declared a NULL value is inserted in the column. If the column is
declared as NOT NULL the insert operation fails.

13. DELETE syntax

DELETE FROM table_name
[ WHERE expression ]
[ LIMIT limit_amount ]

Deletes all the rows from the table that match the WHERE clause. An optional LIMIT clause
specifies the maximum number of matched rows to be removed. An example of using the DELETE
statement;

DELETE FROM table

WHERE col3 LIKE '11%' AND col1 < 1000 LIMIT 200

14. UPDATE syntax

UPDATE table_name
SET col_name1 = expression1, col_name2 = expression2, ....
[ WHERE expression ]
[ LIMIT limit_amount ]

Updates information in a table. The SET clause is a list of assignments that describe how the
columns of the data matched by the WHERE clause are to be updated. Any columns not assigned in
the SET clause are left unchanged. Examples of using UPDATE;

UPDATE Employee
SET salary = salary * 1.25
WHERE name = 'Bob'
UPDATE Order
SET id = id + 3, part = CONCAT(part, '-00')
WHERE part LIKE 'PO-%'
LIMIT 10

15. SELECT syntax

SELECT [ DISTINCT | ALL ]
column_expression1, column_expression2, ....
[ FROM from_clause ]
[ WHERE where_expression ]
[ GROUP BY expression1, expression2, .... ]
[ HAVING having_expression ]
[ ORDER BY order_column_expr1, order_column_expr2, .... ]
column_expression ::= expression [ AS ] [ column_alias ]
from_clause ::= select_table1, select_table2, ...
from_clause ::= select_table1 LEFT [OUTER] JOIN select_table2 ON expr ...
from_clause ::= select_table1 RIGHT [OUTER] JOIN select_table2 ON expr ...
from_clause ::= select_table1 [INNER] JOIN select_table2 ...
select_table ::= table_name [ AS ] [ table_alias ]
select_table ::= ( sub_select_statement ) [ AS ] [ table_alias ]
order_column_expr ::= expression [ ASC | DESC ]
The SELECT statement is used to form queries for extracting information out of the database. The
following example query will return the number, quantity and price of all orders for more than 5
items sorted in descending order by order number. In addition it rounds the order price to two
decimal places and applies a dollar ($) sign to the output.

SELECT number, quantity, CONCAT('$', ROUND(price, 2))

FROM Order
WHERE quantity > 5
ORDER BY number DESC

The ORDER BY and GROUP BY clause may refer to a column, a column alias, or an expression. The
HAVING clause is evaluated after the grouping and aggregate columns have been resolved.

For examples of using SELECT with aggregate functions see the 'Internal SQL Functions' section.

16. COMMIT and ROLLBACK syntax

COMMIT
ROLLBACK

17. CREATE USER, ALTER USER and DROP USER syntax

CREATE USER username SET PASSWORD 'password'
[ SET GROUPS groups_list ]
[ SET ACCOUNT ( LOCK | UNLOCK ) ]

ALTER USER username SET PASSWORD 'password'

[ SET GROUPS groups_list ]
[ SET ACCOUNT ( LOCK | UNLOCK ) ]

DROP USER username

The following example creates a user called 'harry' with the password 'cat';

CREATE USER harry SET PASSWORD 'cat'

18. GRANT/REVOKE syntax

GRANT privileges ON database_object TO ( PUBLIC | user_list )
[ WITH GRANT OPTION ]

REVOKE [ GRANT OPTION FOR ] privileges ON database_object

FROM ( PUBLIC | user_list )

privileges ::= priv_item1, priv_item2, ...

priv_item ::= ALL [ PRIVILEGES ] | SELECT | INSERT | UPDATE |

DELETE | REFERENCES | USAGE

database_object ::= [ TABLE ] table_name | SCHEMA schema_name

user_list ::= PUBLIC | username1, username2, ...

Grants or revokes types of access on a table or view to a user. When a table or view is created the
system gives full grant options to the user that created the object. The user is given the option to
grant other users selective access to the object through the GRANT and REVOKE syntax. For
example, the follow statement shows how a user would grant user 'toby' permission to SELECT
from a table called MyTable;

GRANT SELECT ON TABLE MyTable TO toby

The GRANT command allows granting all users access to an object. The following statement
makes MyTable globally readable;

GRANT SELECT ON TABLE MyTable TO PUBLIC

If you wish to give a user the option of granting a privilege to another user, add WITH GRANT
OPTION to the GRANT statement.

19. SET syntax

SET variable = expression
SET AUTO COMMIT ( ON | OFF )
SET TRANSACTION ISOLATION LEVEL ( SERIALIZABLE )
SET SCHEMA schema_name

Makes a change to the state of the connection. SET AUTO COMMIT is used to switch transaction
'auto commit mode' on or off. When auto commit mode is on the engine commits after every
statement. By default, a connection starts with auto commit mode switched on. SET
TRANSACTION ISOLATION LEVEL currently only supports the SERIALIZABLE isolation level. See
the 'Transactions' section of the documentation for details of how Mckoi handles transactions.

SET SCHEMA is used to change the default schema of a connection.

20. DESCRIBE syntax

DESCRIBE table_name

This command provides information about the columns of the table. It shows the column names,
the type / size and scale (if applicable) and other useful information.

21. SHOW syntax

SHOW engine_variable
engine_variable ::= TABLES | SCHEMA | STATUS | CONNECTIONS

Shows internal information about the database system. SHOW TABLES returns a list of tables in the
database. SHOW STATUS returns debugging and statistical information about the internal state of
the database engine. SHOW CONNECTIONS returns a snapshot of the current connections on the
database. SHOW SCHEMA lists all the schema defined.
22. SHUTDOWN syntax
SHUTDOWN

Shuts down the database. If the database is running as a server the database shuts down cleanly
and the process is stopped. If the database is embedded in a Java application it is cleanly put into
a shut down state.

Only a user with the correct grants may successfully execute this command.